The Role of Patent Medicine Vendors in Injectable Contraceptive Services

Modern contraception is underutilized in Nigeria, which has a modern contraceptive prevalence rate of just 10 percent. Of the contraceptives used, injectable contraception is the most popular, accounting for approximately 30 percent of modern contraceptive use in the country. The bulk of contraceptive services are provided by private sources, including hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, and patent medicine (PM) shops. PM shops are the most popular among the private sources because they are readily available, and they are the preferred source of care for individuals who practice self-care, especially those living in many of the medically underserved communities.

The Evidence Project is conducting a study to better understand the role of patent medical vendors (PMVs) in offering injectable services (e.g., selling, counseling, referring to health centers, and/or administering). The study will also assess the standards of safety and infection-control practices used by PMVs when selling and administering injectable services. Additionally, the researchers will explore the experiences of injectable users in accessing PMV services and will assess the factors that influence women’s choice of injectable services, including cost, convenience, and privacy, among other determinants.

The knowledge generated from this study will help elucidate how PMVs are implementing injectable services and how to expand this programming if it is deemed safe, acceptable, and feasible.

The Evidence Project is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the terms of cooperative agreement no. AID-OAA-A-13-00087. The contents of this web site are the sole responsibility of the Evidence Project and Population Council and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.

The Evidence Project seeks to expand access to high quality family planning/reproductive health services worldwide through implementation science, including the strategic generation, translation, and use of new and existing evidence. The project is led by the Population Council in partnership with the INDEPTH Network, the International Planned Parenthood Federation, PATH, and the Population Reference Bureau.